Worm Squadron Epidode VIII: Earth Worm Rising
by reagan64
Summary: Commander Dirt Wantilles and his squadron of crack worms fight the evil Termite Empire. Part 8 out of a 10 part series. R&R!
1. The Begining

Worm Squadron  
  
Episode VIII  
  
Earth Worm rising  
  
Grand Admiral Worm was busy looking at one of the many sensor consoles on his the flagship; the Termite Worm Destroyer Wormeara. To some it was surprising that he had obtained the rank of Grand Admiral, since everyone in the galaxy knew that the late Termite Emperor had a prejudice against worms, never less Worm had been one of the top officers in the Termite Navy; five years after the battle of Wendor he assumed command of the shattered Termite fleet and vowed to crush the fledgling Worm Republic. "Sir, this report just came in." Worm turned around to see Captain Welleon; Captain of the Wormeara holding a data pad. "Report Captain." "Sir the sentry ships reported being trailed by two squadrons of W- wings; but Commander Wishel thinks he lost them." "Unlikely Captain," replied Worm. "Worm Republic commanders are very determined; I wouldn't be surprised if we see those fighters again. "Yes Admir-," Welleon never got to finish his sentence. The alarms immediately went off and the Wormeara's crew raced to battle stations. "Sir, four Worm Frigates and three squadrons of W-wings off our starboard bow," the comm. officer reported. Worm turned to his subordinate. "Captain, how much do you know about dirt clods?" "Not much Sir," Welleon replied diplomatically. "You should take time to study it, Captain. Those ships...are Welmin." "Welmin? You can tell those are Welmin ships?" "You should take time to study dirt clods, Captain." Captain Welleon looked at Worm with a dazed look on his face. "Shouldn't we signal the rest of the fleet? The Wudicator will be here in 20 minutes." "No," replied Worm. "The last thing we want to do is draw in more of our ships." He turned to the comm. officer in the port crew pit. "Deploy Termite Interceptors, ship down 15 degrees." 


	2. Worm Squadron

"!#$% it Worm Two where are you?" Commander Dirt Wantilles was busy engaging Termite Interceptors and had an enemy fighter on his tail. "Right with you boss." Dirt cocked his head backed to see his pursuer explode into a cloud of dust, vaporized by Worm Two's lasers. He returned his gaze to the battle around him. He noticed a lone Interceptor off his 11'o clock; He veered his fighter into a snap roll towards his left and had his target locked by his targeting computer. Adjusting the power level of his lasers, he ended the dogfight with four quick shots.  
  
Meanwhile on the Wormeara, Grand Admiral Worm noticed that the battle was going well; they had already destroyed one frigate and had crippled another, with the loss of only four fighters. "You see Captain..." he started lecturing, "By being below the enemy we can take advantage of the Worm Frigate's blind spot on the bottom of their hull." Welleon couldn't help but smile... the Wormeara had 60 Turbolaser batteries, opposed to four and now two frigates with 10 each, which couldn't even fire back. An hour later it was all over.  
  
  
  
"Hmm. Yet another council meeting," thought Councilor (and princess) Weia. It had been five years since the Worm Republic had been founded and she was still working to set-up a functioning government. Also at the meeting was Won Wothma, Admiral Wackbar, and councilor W'evila. "In recent news a task force of four frigates was completely annihilated by a single Termite Worm Destroyer..." Won Wothma continued on her briefing. "Wait," Weia interrupted, "Annihilated?" "I'm afraid that is correct," Won Wothma replied. "How? The Termites have been in retreat for years, they just don't have the ability to do that." The council chamber went quiet; until Wackbar broke the silence. "What it means is we must find out who was in command of that Worm destroyer. If this happens again we could lose the very systems we have fought so hard for." Councilor Weia nodded. "I'll put intelligence on it right away," she interjected. "Then this meeting is adjourned." 


	3. The Battle of Walderann

The bridge of the Wormeara was alive with activity as the ship prepared for light speed. Captain Welleon could be seen on the upper bridge by the navigation consoles; the calculations were nearly complete. "Captain Welleon, the comm. Officer interjected, The Firestorm and the Wudicator are ready; they await your order sir." Welleon was about to give the order when Worm snuck up on him. "Is my flagship ready, Captain"? He inquired. "The Wormeara is fully at your command, Admiral," came the reply. "Good; Launch." With that the stars around them turned to lines and the Wormeara was off.  
  
A few hours later the Wormeara, the Wudicator, the Firestorm, and eight Wormnaught heavy cruisers arrived at the target system of Walderaan. It was a force worthy of the old days. Captain Welleon was pleased. "Launch Termite Interceptors; Turbolasers stand by," he ordered and the battle commenced. The Wormeara's three squadrons of star fighters and the Wudicator's two raced out of the hangars and screamed towards the defending Wian II battle station, their lasers encountering the station's deflector shield. "Turbolaser batteries four through six commence firing." The Wormeara's Turbolasers hit the station with astounding force. Within minutes the station was a flaming wreck. Welleon turned to Grand Admiral Worm. "Orders sir?" he asked his superior. "No Captain, continue as planned," was the response.  
  
Not another raid. Commander Wantillese shook the thought out of his head. He had a battle to fight. "Okay Worms, let's blow these guys; accelerate to attack speed." With that Worm Squadron's eight W-wings sped towards one of the attacking Worm Destroyers. Worm Four's voice crackled over the radio. "Worm Leader, I have four Interceptors coming for us, vector two- seven-zero." "Roger that Worm Four," Dirt replied to his squadron mate. "Let's roll! The Termite Interceptors continued their assault on Worm squadron and the gap was closing fast. Dirt aimed his guns at the lead Interceptor and Worm Two on the second, while the rest of the squadron attacked the Wormeara with missiles. Just then the Interceptor fired at Dirt, hitting his shields but doing no real damage. Holding his breathe.he fired. Three shots fired towards the Interceptor which blew up in a fireball. He proceeded to the next Interceptor. "Yeeaaah!" Dirt turned his head right to see Worm Two vaporizing an Interceptor of his own. "Good work Two, but don't get cocky." "Roger that Worm Leader," came the reply over Dirt's radio. As the battle raged around him he noticed that a couple large transport craft coming out of one of the Worm Destroyers. His HUD identified them as Assault Shuttles. "Okay guys," Wantillese said. "Attack those Shuttles." "Roger that Worm Leader." "Copy." Dirt locked on to his target and fired a salvo of missiles at the approaching Shuttle. The salvo was soon followed by an explosion, another salvo, and another explosion. For Worm Squadron the battle was over.  
  
On the bridge of the Wormeara Captain Welleon was uneasy; he knew the price of failure. With his force of Interceptors all but annihilated the battle was turning in the Worm Republic's favor. Welleon stood frozen on the bridge until G.A. Worm returned from his private quarters. He looked disappointed. "It would have been nice to capture Walderann, but at the moment it is not needed." "Sir?" We don't need to capture Walderann, our goal is to frighten, not obliterate, Captain." Captain Welleon was still puzzled and tense. "At ease Captain," Worm said to him, "Our job here is done. Stand by for lightspeed." After easing up a bit Welleon recalled all Termite Interceptors and prepared the fleet for lightspeed. "Sir, we're ready," the Navigation Officer called from the starboard side crew pit. "Launch, Ensign," Welleon replied. A few seconds later the fleet was off. 


	4. Chance Encounter

The Millennium Worm raced through hyperspace like a silver bullet, its surface hot and crimson. Councilor Weia and her husband, the smuggler Wan Walo were in transit to Walderann. The system lay only fifteen light years away. "Were coming out of hyperspace, sweetheart," Wan called from the cockpit. "We'll see how bad the damage is." "I'm coming, I'm coming!" Jerk, thought Princess Weia as she got into the co-pilot's seat while Wan activated the repulsorlifts. Ten minutes later they were examining what was left of a once great city. The damage was horrible, entire patches were leveled. But something was wrong. "Wait-," Weia called out for all to hear. "Only some sections of the city are damaged, and what about the relay station? That's standing. If the Termites wanted to take the system, they'd take it out so we wouldn't have a chance to send a distress signal." Her speech had made it's effect. The salvage team were all ears. "Why would the Termite Empire leave the station alone?" a worker asked. To catch the reinforcements we send," Wan broke in. "But that would mean- Wan interrupted again. "It would mean that the termites are playing with us. This probably is connected to that lost Welmin taskforce." Weia nodded in agreement. It had been to long since someone had said something intelligent. Anyway she needed to get back to Wouruscant to report on the damage to the Worm High Council. After getting back to the Millennium Worm they entered hyperspace on their way back to the Worm City.  
  
Back on Wouruscant the council was in uproar over Councilor Weia's report. Councilor W'evila had the floor. "We can not be intimidated by an imperial game of Cat-and-Mouse!" he roared. "We MUST go on the offensive and crush the Termite Empire once and for all!" Few applause came. "Councilor, we can not throw away our worms and ships to attempt an end to what is just a mop-up operation," Won Wothma broke in. "What we need to do is strengthen our garrisons and build up our strength," she continued. "Aggressiveness is not an option." Councilor W'evila was quiet from then on.  
  
The Worm Cruiser Liberator cruised through space off Walderann, patrolling for any sign of the Wormeara or another Termite Worm Destroyer. With the recent surge of termite activity in the area no one could be two careful. For the first couple days of the patrol nothing happened, but on the fifth day. "Captain, unknown vessel off two-six-zero, four clicks." Caption Ukio of the Liberator shook off other thoughts and focused on the battle around him. A Wormnaught-B cruiser had entered realspace and had begun firing from its 10 Turbolaser batteries. The Liberator returned fire and the battle was on. Two more Wormnaughts came out of hyperspace and begun to launch their complements of Termite Interceptor fighters and Termite Assault Bombers. Due to recent budget cuts the Liberator had been stripped of its fighters and the bomber's missiles were taking their toll. "Sir, Starboard shields down to 40%" the defense systems officer reported from his station on the bridge. "Starboard down to twenty, Larboard down to thirty-five!" They were in trouble. Without reinforcements and fighter cover; The Liberator was doomed. Ukio needed to act fast. "All power to front deflector screens," he ordered. "Helmsman, set collision course to lead cruiser, maintain vector." The bridge officers, as perplexed as they were followed their orders like "yes-men." The Liberator moved steadily on a collision course with the lead Wormnaught, the one they first encountered. "One-half click and closing fast." As the proximity alarms wailed the crew of the Liberator braced for impact. It came in the form of a *thud* as the Liberator sliced through the Wormnaught like a knife through butter. As the cruiser snapped in two; its companions stopped firing and prepared to retreat. Captain Ukio did not want to let them go. "Larboard Turbolaser batteries concentrate fire on cruiser one-five- one, Starboard target zero-three-zero," he ordered and the Liberator's Turbolasers unleashed a deadly barrage of laser fire; But it was too late. Thirty seconds after Ukio's order, the remaining Wormnaughts jumped into hyperspace. 


	5. The Watana Fleet

"#%#@ those Worms!" cursed Captain Welleon when the battle report came in. The Termite Empire did not have the bottomless pit of warships and crew it once had. Grand Admiral Worm just sat in his command chair gazing out into the stars. He was perfectly calm, and then he broke the silence. "This isn't a disaster, Captain," he said. "Losing one Wormnaught is hardly a cause for concern." "But Sir, our ability to build new ships is almost gone," said Welleon. "Captain, soon we will have all the ships we need, an entire fleet ripe for the picking." "Sir?" Welleon replied puzzled. "What do you mean?" he asked his superior. Worm smirked. "What I mean Captain, is the Watana fleet." "The Watana fleet?" Welleon's mouth hung in disbelief. For over sixty years, even before the rise of the Termite Empire, the baffling demise of the fleet had bewildered historians. But no one had ever found it, although many had tried. But Grand Admirals had a knack for doing the impossible. "Yes Captain, the Watana fleet. Imagine the things we could do with two hundred Wormnaughts." He was right, with a mere sixteen Worm Destroyers and about five dozen Wormnaught-Bs; the Termite Fleet needed the ships. "But Sir-," Worm cut him off. "Yes Captain, Intelligence is closing in on the ships location. And we know of the smuggler who can finish the puzzle for us." The officers of the Wormeara looked on with curiosity. The Watana fleet was legendary after all. An enigma of time. Worm turned to the Navigation Officer, "Lieutenant, prepare a course for a jump to Wikr." Moments later the Wormeara entered lightspeed.  
  
The Assault Shuttle Wild Warrde had just entered realspace just outside the gravity well of the planet Wikr. Home. "Switch propulsion to repulsor lifts, Waves, power down Quad Guns, let's get a move on!" Captain Walon Warrde looked down to his home-planet of Wikr, as his co-pilot Whent nursed the ship down through the atmosphere of the planet to a "nice, soft" landing at a clearing in the dense forest. Home Base. As Waves powered down the rest of the ship's systems Warrde stepped out. After unpacking their supplies, the crew of the Wild Warrde set out on putting a few homely touches to their empty base. The ship stood like a Colossus in a sea of green. Warrde let out a sigh, they had just delivered an order of illegal narcotics and no new jobs came. He turned on a sensor screen to check for Termite watchdogs in the area. Then a big blip appeared on a screen. 


	6. The Battle Razor

"Waves, get me a close scan of that ship." Yes, sir." After a few minutes Waves reappeared with a datacard. "Well?" "Termite Worm Destroyer, sir. I'm not positive but I think it's the Wormeara. "Hmmm. That would be Grand Admiral Worm's flagship then," Warrde replied. "Yes." Warrde had a look irritation stamped over his features. They had been found. Warrde paced the room; a Worm Destroyer was a bad sign. "Any support ships?" he inquired. "No, wait. two Assault Shuttles and an unknown craft," Waves replied with fear. Warrde could sense it. There was only one thing left to do. Whent, a pale worm with little to him stepped into the room. A look of tension on his face. "Whent, pack your bags, we're leaving." "Sir?" "We've been found, let's go. It was then that the crew started packing their supplies and base into the Wild Warrde. Time was essential. After a few minutes Warrde looked up into the sky. "They're here! Battle stations!"  
  
General Wovell sat in the Battle Razor, his Scarab-built command vehicle. Armed with four Turbolasers and a full complement of Scarab missiles. The command vehicle was flanked by a pair of Hover Tanks, a box of firepower mounted on a rectangular body, not the prettiest or the most powerful, but still effective. All that was needed was the order to attack.  
  
"When those fleet hotshots finish their coffee, those criminals will know fear," thought the General as he waited impatiently. After a couple minutes the order was given and the Battle Razor moved forward, the tanks by its side. Two platoons of Termite Troopers charged in front, blaster rifles ready.  
  
As the crew of the Wild Warrde prepped the ship and powered up its Quad Guns; a strange vehicle approached, a big black intimidating vehicle, walking on its four big feet, its legs moving with the precision of a real animal. As it approached its massive guns began to fire, tearing away at the camp. Then the Termite Troopers came. "Okay, we need to hold them off for a few more seconds." Warrde got his blaster out of its holster, he sneaked across the ship, using one of the legs as cover, and he began to take down some troopers, one by one. Finally the ship was ready and the Wild Warrde and its crew took of as the Battle Razor unleashed a volley of Scarab missiles. One hit the ship twenty meters behind the cockpit; luckily Assault Shuttles have strong shields. They took a few more hits as thy rose into the sky but soon they had left the atmosphere. They were making the lightspeed calculation when the Wormeara launched six Termite Interceptors which immediately began firing. "Warrde, starboard shields down to 20%!" Whent called form his station as he made the finishing touches on the calculation needed to escape safely. The situation was getting grim, with the Interceptors pounding them to rubble. Waves turned from the copilot's seat to Warrde. "Sir, we've lost starboard deflector shields- suddenly the Assault Shuttle jerked, and the stars turned into starlines. They were free. 


	7. The Watana Fleet is found Or is it?

The bridge of the Wormeara was very quiet, it's Turbolasers and Ion Cannons idle. Barely a whisper was heard from the crew pits. Grand Admiral Worm said nothing, but gazed out to space. "Maybe I underestimated Warrde," Worm said, "I thought the Battle Razor would disable his ship for me." "So did I, Sir." Welleon coughed up. "At ease Captain; we can always catch him at his backup base." "Backup Base?" "Yes Captain, that is correct; I have already sent the Constrainer to catch him. We will find him, and with him the Watana fleet."  
  
"Wild Warrde, your request for landing permission has been granted, proceed to Dockyard 5." "Roger that control, we'll begin our landing at once", Warrde said regretfully. The Worm Republic seemed to like military protocol. Warrde thought this while the Wild Warrde entered the clear atmosphere on Waboo, flanked by a pair of V-Wings, curved fighters, they looked like a sideways crescent, only this crescent was armed. A solemn reminder of the war that raged. As the Assault Shuttle landed it was greeted by Waboo customs officials. After all the paperwork the Wild Warrde took off and headed for a remote location in the Great Forest of Waboo. They landed at a small clearing and proceeded to pitch their tents. While this was going on, Walon decided to lay low for a while until the Termites gave up their search. But no, with Grand Admiral Worm leading them.the Termites would never give up. They would hunt them down like animals. The Termites have probably sent Interdictors to all neutral systems, he thought. His time was short. He was right.but he was not the only one who thought this.  
  
Admiral Wackbar called an emergency meeting of the Worm High Council to discuss the war situation. In several small raids the Termites had destroyed or captured five Worm Frigates, nine Wormnaughts, and two Worm Cruisers. A third cruiser had been crippled and was still under repair. To make matters worse there was a shortage of able-bodied Worms to man the remaining ships. A dispute commenced. Wackbar was the first to speak. "Gentleworms, the situation is grim," he said. "We don't have enough ships and we don't have the wormpower to man the ships we have. I suggest.conscription." That caused uproar in the council. "We aren't an army Admiral, we have an army," councilor Weia interjected. "We must maintain the level of living standards for our citizens." After a 9-3 vote the council defeated any idea of conscription. The council did decide thought, to hire mercenaries to supplement the Worm Republic Navy. Weia was the only dissenter. 


	8. Scarabs

The bridge of the Interdictor Cruiser Constrainer was busier than a Walderann market. Crew and Officers alike raced to and from their posts as the ship approached the peaceful planet of Waboo. On the bridge of the Constrainer, Captain Wiett stood steadfast. "Power up gravity-well projectors, right full rudder, now!" he barked, and was obeyed. "Launch Assault Bombers!" As he said those words twelve bombers emerged from the Constrainer's hangar bay. Eight Waboo V-Wings rose to greet them. Two bombers were taken out before the remaining eight entered the planetary atmosphere. Turbolasers from Waboo's air defense system opened fire on the imperials and took out four more, and damaged a fifth.  
  
The remaining five bombers proceeded at low level to Warrde's camp, firing a destructive volley of torpedoes, disabling the Wild Warrde and leveling most of the compound. The bombers returned home, mission accomplished. The Constrainer then launched three Assault Shuttles and five Battle Razors.  
  
Dirt's W-Wing and those of his comrades entered realspace four clicks out. He then saw a terrifying sight.twelve Battle Razors, three Assault Shuttles, and two squadrons of Termite Interceptors. Worm Squadron was outnumbered.three to one. The Interceptors were attacking in groups of three, each group attacking a W-Wing. Dirt knew that his attackers were aces; they dodged his lasers like they were king of the world. Dirt then got a lucky shot and took out one of them, but the others quickly got on his tail. "%#! I'm hit!" Dirt yelled as his shields were reduced to one half, but no help came. Dirt diverted all power from the engines to shields, just enough for his opponents to overshoot. Adjusting the power of his lasers, he fired. Six shots were all it took; all three Termite Interceptors were no more. Eventually Worm Squadron got the upper hand, but the real battle was just beginning.  
  
With their getaway ship down, Warrde and his companions drew their blasters as the first of the Assault Shuttles landed. They expected to see the white armor of Termite Troopers, but their opponents put Termite Troopers to shame. Huge beings with heads three times as big and huge mandibles that could crush a grown worm like nothing. Scarabs. The smugglers opened fire on the approaching beetles, but their shots just bounced off the Scarab's strong exoskeletons. Even worse.the Battle Razors were getting closer, the lead one fired a pair of Scarab Missiles, and one hit the flaming Wild Warrde. It was going nowhere without a major overhaul. Warrde was then hit by a stun beam, he never felt the sting. 


	9. Business

"And there were no casualties?" "No sir" Captain Welleon said for the third time. "Interesting" remarked Worm, "Inform Wanzanar that I would like an additional fifty mercenaries and to extend the enlistments of those we already have." "Yes sir." "And," Worm added. "Bring in the smuggler for questioning." A few minutes later Worm, Welleon, and Warrde were all in an interrogation room, a cross-examination that could decide the galaxy's future. Warrde was brought in, flanked by a pair of Termite Troopers. He looked frail, stun weapons are not a source of fun for the attacked. "Where is the Watana fleet?" Welleon demanded. "What's in it for me?" Warrde smugly replied. "YOU ARE NOT THE ONE ASKING QUESTIONS WORM! I AM! Worm frowned. Captain, this is a business deal, nothing more." "Sir?" "Allow me." The Grand Admiral stared Warrde straight into the eye, as to read his thoughts. "Where is the Watana fleet," he demanded. Warrde again replied. "What's in it for me?" Worm smiled. "Money Mr. Warrde, lots of money." "What kind of money?" "Give us the location of the fleet," Worm paused. "And for every ship we salvage I will pay you one-hundred thousand Termite Credits. Think about it, ten million credits and all, you can buy a lot of equipment for that much." Warrde frowned. "Your money ain't worth nothin'." "How about a Termite Interceptor or an Assault Shuttle?" "No." "Let him go, his ship should be ready by now." As Warrde left the room, he failed to notice that a Wormy hand had grabbed a datacard from his pocket. On board his flagship the Devil's Spear Emperor Wanzanar, a tall strong Scarab plotted his next move on the chessboard that is galactic politics. He had a fleet rivaling the Empire, maybe it would be time to. "I think it is time to re-consider our little alliance with Worm, he announced at a Scarab Command Council meeting. His courtiers were astonished. "My lord." "DON"T QUESTION ME $#(^#! He barked. "I DO NOT TOLERATE DISSENT!" The courtier never felt a thing.  
  
As Warrde sat on his chair on the bridge of the Wild Warrde, he pondered what he would do next. The Empire was not a good business partner. He turned to his copilot, Waves. "Maybe selling the Wormnaughts to the Worm Republic might be more profitable in the long run, they are always on the lookout for capital ships." "You really think that's wise, Sir?" "Set course for Wouruscant, stand-by for lightspeed." A few hours later Warrde was in the chamber of the Worm High Council, presenting his case. "How do we know this isn't a trap?" asked one councilor. "It is not." Won Wothma stepped in. "I'm sorry Warrde, we really need proof." "Proof? I'll give you proof!" Warrde grabbed into his pocked.and found nothing. "Huh?" "Something wrong," inquired Councilor Weia. "You look disturbed." "I had a datacard," Warrde replied. "With the fleet's coordinates, it must have been stolen when I met with Grand Admiral Worm." "A grand admiral?" "Yes." "That explains a lot," Weia remarked. "Like the Welmin taskforce we lost two weeks ago, and the Waboo attack." All was silent; after a close vote, the council decided to send Worm Squadron and a Worm Frigate to investigate. 


	10. The Hunt

"And there were no casualties?"  
"No sir" Captain Welleon said for the third time.  
"Interesting" remarked Worm, "Inform Wanzanar that I would like an additional fifty mercenaries and to extend the enlistments of those we already have."  
"Yes sir."  
"And," Worm added. "Bring in the smuggler for questioning."  
A few minutes later Worm, Welleon, and Warrde were all in an interrogation room, a cross-examination that could decide the galaxy's future.  
Warrde was brought in, flanked by a pair of Termite Troopers. He looked frail, stun weapons are not a source of fun for the attacked.  
"Where is the Watana fleet?" Welleon demanded.  
"What's in it for me?" Warrde smugly replied.  
"YOU ARE NOT THE ONE ASKING QUESTIONS WORM! I AM! Worm frowned.  
Captain, this is a business deal, nothing more."  
"Sir?"  
"Allow me."  
The Grand Admiral stared Warrde straight into the eye, as to read his thoughts.  
"Where is the Watana fleet," he demanded. Warrde again replied.  
"What's in it for me?" Worm smiled.  
"Money Mr. Warrde, lots of money."  
"What kind of money?"  
"Give us the location of the fleet," Worm paused.  
"And for every ship we salvage I will pay you one-hundred thousand Termite Credits. Think about it, ten million credits and all, you can buy a lot of equipment for that much." Warrde frowned.  
"Your money ain't worth nothin'."  
"How about a Termite Interceptor or an Assault Shuttle?"  
"No."  
"Let him go, his ship should be ready by now."  
As Warrde left the room, he failed to notice that a Wormy hand had grabbed a datacard from his pocket.  
On board his flagship the Devil's Spear Emperor Wanzanar, a tall strong Scarab plotted his next move on the chessboard that is galactic politics. He had a fleet rivaling the Empire, maybe it would be time to.  
"I think it is time to re-consider our little alliance with Worm, he announced at a Scarab Command Council meeting. His courtiers were astonished.  
"My lord."  
"DON"T QUESTION ME $#(^#! He barked.  
"I DO NOT TOLERATE DISSENT!"  
The courtier never felt a thing.  
  
As Warrde sat on his chair on the bridge of the Wild Warrde, he pondered what he would do next. The Empire was not a good business partner. He turned to his copilot, Waves.  
"Maybe selling the Wormnaughts to the Worm Republic might be more profitable in the long run, they are always on the lookout for capital ships."  
"You really think that's wise, Sir?"  
"Set course for Wouruscant, stand-by for lightspeed."  
A few hours later Warrde was in the chamber of the Worm High Council, presenting his case.  
"How do we know this isn't a trap?" asked one councilor.  
"It is not."  
Won Wothma stepped in.  
"I'm sorry Warrde, we really need proof."  
"Proof? I'll give you proof!" Warrde grabbed into his pocked.and found nothing.  
"Huh?"  
"Something wrong," inquired Councilor Weia. "You look disturbed."  
"I had a datacard," Warrde replied. "With the fleet's coordinates, it must have been stolen when I met with Grand Admiral Worm."  
"A grand admiral?"  
"Yes."  
"That explains a lot," Weia remarked. "Like the Welmin taskforce we lost two weeks ago, and the Waboo attack."  
All was silent; after a close vote, the council decided to send Worm Squadron and a Worm Frigate to investigate. 


	11. The Watana Fleet is Found

As the Worm Frigate Restorer moved through hyperspace bound for the Watana fleet. Dirt couldn't believe it.  
"The Watana fleet, after all those years," said Dirt to his pilots as they approached the fleet.  
It was an amazing sight, two hundred Wormnaughts, silently floating through space, a ghost fleet. The Worm Republic now had two hundred more warships; now all they needed were Worm Cruisers to tow the Wormnaughts, and the worms to man them. But something was wrong.  
An Escort Carrier.  
"No," the Restorer's captain gasped, "They beat us to it." The Escort Carriers apparently saw the approaching frigate for it began launching its complement of Termite Interceptor fighters, all five squadrons, sixty in all.  
Worm Squadron was deployed and the battle begun. The Worms quickly took out half a dozen Termites, but their opponents were attacking in groups of six. Dirt turned his head to see one the W-Wings blow up into a ball of fire. Even worse, he was hit.  
#%^*. Dirt did the best he could to shake the enemy, but they weren't about to give up. They chipped away at his shields until Worm Six came in and took out four of them. Dirt throttled down and took the rest.  
"Thanks guys, I'm clear!" Dirt shouted with relief. He cocked his head up and saw them. Two more Escort Carriers, box-like craft, had arrived, each escorted by two Termite Avengers, an improved Interceptor which boasted shields, a hyperdrive, and even greater performance.  
The carriers launched their fighters, now there were almost two hundred enemy fighters. Dirt and Worm Four attacked the approaching Avengers, struggling to keep them in their sights long enough to make a good shot.  
Dirt fired a torpedo, which miraculously hit, the Avenger was no more. The rest of Worm Squadron lured the Termite Interceptors towards the Restorer, which took out several of them with its Turbolasers.  
Even thought; the situation was grim, help was on the way, but it would be at least an hour, and the Avengers were firing at the Frigate.with torpedoes.  
This attack took out most of the frigate's port shields and rendered its two ion cannons inoperable. The Escort Carriers even started firing their Turbolasers at the frigate.  
Worm Squadron was also taking casualties, Dirt got the last Avenger, but his squadron was down to four ships; only two of those still had shields; three Interceptors made a pass on Dirt, but all three soon exploded 5000m away.  
"Worm Leader, this is Tape Leader, how the @$%! are you doing?"  
"Roger that Tape Leader," replied Dirt. "I need to get some of my worms out, so I'd appreciate it if you would be kind enough to cover us?"  
"Roger that Worm Leader, let's kick some %)$."  
The tide slowly began to change, Tape Squadron's twelve V-Wings were on a turkey shot; fifteen Interceptors went down in the next few minutes. Eventually most of the Interceptors were gone, but were replaced by an ever greater threat.  
"What the #($#?" An Imperial Termite Worm Destroyer had entered realspace five clicks out. It immediately began launching Assault Bombers, they came fast and fired their missiles twenty kilometers away, four knocked out the Restorer's shield generator, and the rest hit the ship including seven that went right through the bridge. She was dead in the water. Tape Squadron quickly shot down two of them, but the rest escaped toward the awaiting Worm Destroyer. Things just couldn't get worse, they did. 


	12. An Ambience of Horror

A huge green cylinder ship appeared, it dwarfed the nearby Worm Destroyer. In the middle was a huge hangar, over a hundred triangular craft came out.

                         The new fighters soon took out two more Assault Bombers and began tearing the heart out of Tape Squadron, Worm Squadron watched from afar. 

                         "Scarabs," Dirt couldn't believe his eyes. The Scarabs were neutral, weren't they? But they shot at both sides. The last of the Interceptors exploded in a fireball but luckily the Worm Destroyer launched another three squadrons.

                         The Scarab Gunships had strong shields, and were fast, faster than the Avengers. After ten minutes of fierce ship-to-ship combat one of the gunships was destroyed by combined fire of three Tapes. 

                         Dirt realized that the Worm Destroyer was drifting ever closer to the approaching Scarab Battlecruiser. The capital ship entered the battlecruiser's hangar bay. It was gone.

  


                         Wanzanar could not believe his luck, he had trapped Worm Squadron and an Imperial Termite Worm Destroyer. He loved to see enemies die in the fringes of space, alone. He could see the three remaining V-Wings making a pass on his flagship; a Gunship appeared and took all three.

                         "Launch the Battle Razors!" he ordered.

                         The Termite Pilots saw the Battle Razors as they unleashed a volley of Scarab missiles, crippling a Wormnaught. Two more were damaged before Assault Bombers silenced them. 

                         The Scarab ship then started a slow turn. When it had turned 60 degrees it jumped. The Battle of Watana, was over.

                         Worm Squadron limped back to base on their backup hyperdrives. They arrived and were greeted by an atmosphere of horror. One ship had swallowed a Worm Destroyer and shot down all its fighters. No kind of supership had ever been conceived. A sure sign of what lay ahead.

To be Continued…


End file.
